The Daily Yonder

Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week. Kiran Singh Sirah wears many hats: as a public folklorist, storytelling artist, peacebuilder, and cultural narrative practitioner.

This story was originally published by Free Press Indiana. It’s been a year since the only grocery remaining in Shoals, Indiana, closed. These days, local food shopping is done at the Dollar General just east of town. “We miss the JayC,” Shoals resident Hannah Miller said as she and her three kids left the dollar store July 14 with a dozen eggs and a gallon of water. She used to buy groceries at JayC but now drives the 16-mile round trip to Loogootee, which has an IGA, Ruler Foods and DG Market.

Every week, Yonder Radio brings rural conversations with national reach to listeners around the country. This week we’re starting with a conversation between Daily Yonder reporter Madeline de Figueredo and Mia Sarot about high-voltage transmission lines coming to central Texas.

As I pulled into my driveway, nursing the wounds of a recent heartache, her high lonesome vocals came to a tender conclusion. Squinting through the sunshine piercing the clouds of that big Montana sky, a butterfly flew by. “Everything’s gonna be alright,” Dolly sang. “It’s gonna be okay.” Dolly. That one name tells you everything – who I’m writing about, what song I heard, why the butterfly mattered. Few in American life transcend fame so completely that mononymy comes naturally.

How closely have you been following the latest stories from rural communities across the country? From data centers and primary elections to public art and cattle grazing, this month’s news highlights the challenges, celebrations, and resistance shaping rural life. Take this short quiz to see what you know.

I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t know about Dolly Parton. Being from East Tennessee and growing up in the hills of Appalachia, she was ubiquitous. When I was little, I dozed in the cool air of the theater at Dollywood’s HeartSong and white-knuckled my way through my first big roller coaster ride on the Tennessee Tornado. Even now I have a couple of Dolly-themed mugs in my cabinet and an old Dolly tour shirt in my dresser.

This summer, Oklahoma launched a statewide community access portal initiative, bringing private, internet-connected spaces to public libraries across the state. The program will place as many as 175 portals in libraries, giving rural residents a private space to access telehealth, workforce development, education, and other essential online services. The initiative comes as libraries have taken on an expanding role as community access points for technology and telehealth.

This story was originally published by KFF Health News. A century-old hospital near Michigan’s southern border was one of the nation’s first to convert into a new emergency-focused model Congress created to save rural care. Afterward, though, use of Sturgis Hospital’s emergency department fell, according to data collected at the state level.

Editor’s note: Some interviews for this article were originally conducted in Spanish and translated to English by Clara Haizlett. Hispanic Heritage Month is observed nationwide every September and October, celebrating the cultures and contributions of the Hispanic community in the United States. Last fall, the town of Clarksburg, West Virginia celebrated their second annual Fiesta Hispana in recognition of the month.

Nota del editor: Este artículo fue originalmente escrito en inglés y fue traducido al español por Elena Vega. Era una tarde de otoño en Clarksburg, Virginia del Oeste, y el pequeño pueblo ya estaba inmerso en la tranquila rutina de un adormilado domingo. Excepto por Jackson Square.